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UN / GRYNSPAN TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
STORY: UN / GRYNSPAN TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
TRT: 2:58
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 29 SEPTEMBER 2021, NEW YORK CITY
RECENT – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, flags outside UN headquarters
29 SEPTEMBER 2021, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Grynspan at dais
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):
"You know that part of the disruption in commerce that we have seen - in trade - that we have seen during the pandemic, has to do precisely with the logistics. We are seeing the highest prices on logistics we have ever had, in terms of maritime transport affecting enormously, especially the most vulnerable countries."
4. Wide shot, Grynspan at dais
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):
"The good news is that the G7, and the US for example, have promised to start really delivering vaccines to the developing world. Our problem is the timing. Because for example - let me give you an example - in Latin America, one quarter of the year of not vaccinating is like one year in GDP for the future. So, the problem is not only to get the vaccine but when. And I think that is very important that it will be done immediately."
6. Wide shot, press room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):
"Regional integration should be part of the ecosystem of trade in the world, not for more protectionism, but for a more intelligent integration and more resilient integration of the developing world in the global economy."
8. Med shot, journalist asking question
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):
"What we are pushing for is for a voluntary session of the countries that don't need the special drawing rights because they don't need more reserves in their central banks to be able to give them away for new facilities for the least developed countries and the poor countries, but also for the middle income [countries]. And to find how the SRDs can also go to the development banks that are the ones that can really lend and finance very important investments that the developing world has to do."
10. Med shot, photographer taking picture
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):
"But I think that financing the needs of the developing world is very important. And I would like that to happen in a multilateral framework. And I think that multilateralism is very important in that sense. So, the developing world will have access to markets and won't suffer too quickly going back to austerity because they don't have the means to face the crisis."
12. wide shot, press room
The Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said, "Regional integration should be part of the ecosystem of trade in the world, not for more protectionism, but for a more intelligent integration and more resilient integration of the developing world in the global economy."
Speaking at a press conference today (29 Sep) ahead of the UNCTAD 15 Conference set to take place in Barbados next week, the newly appointment UNCTAD chief, Rebeca Grynspan, said the conference could be a very important moment to discuss trade and development and how trade can help the recovery from the crises the world faces.
Grynspan said the world was witnessing a robust recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic with a growth rate of 5.3 percent, representing the highest percentage in more than 3 decades. However, she stressed that this recovered has been extremely unequal, with clear divergent paths between the developing and developed world.
The UNCTAD chief expected the outcome document and political declaration from the Conference to emphasize the importance of trade as a driver of development and a more inclusive economic recovery.
She said UNCTAD will push to emphasis the four transformations it could help with in the outcome document: the diversification of economies in the developing world; achieving sustainable, inclusive, and resilient economies; financing for development; and transforming multilateralism for a dialogue on these issues.
Grynspan also highlighted the importance of infrastructure resilience as well as the issues of ports, customs, and transport. She said, “Part of the disruption in commerce that we have seen in trade, that we have seen during the pandemic, has to do precisely with the logistics. We are seeing the highest prices on logistics we have ever had, in terms of maritime transport affecting enormously, especially the most vulnerable countries."
Asked about the disparity in vaccinations among developing and developed countries, Grynspan said UNCTAD was working hard for a waiver on intellectual property for the vaccines, increasing production capacity and investment, and expediting the delivery of promised vaccines.
She said, "The good news is that the G7, and the US for example, have promised to start really delivering vaccines to the developing world. Our problem is the timing. Because for example - let me give you an example - in Latin America, one quarter of the year of not vaccinating is like one year in GDP for the future. So, the problem is not only to get the vaccine but when. And I think that is very important that it will be done immediately."
The UNCTAD Secretary-General said trade has to be global, but regional integration is very important. She said regional schemes proved to be more resilient during the pandemic than other schemes. However, she stressed, "Regional integration should be part of the ecosystem of trade in the world, not for more protectionism, but for a more intelligent integration and more resilient integration of the developing world in the global economy."
Grynspan said climate change is another aspect being strengthened in the outcome document, and well as debt relief for developing countries. She said two things happened during this pandemic that give the world a second chance for global development. The first is a new consensus on the role of the state, giving way for a more balanced weight between the market and the state. The second is expanding financing rather than austerity.
The UNCTAD chief noted, however, that the problem is the developing world has much less space for fiscal and monetary policy than the developed world. She applauded the IMF's recent decision on special drawing rights but stressed that 40 percent of that money goes to the G7.
She said, "What we are pushing for is for a voluntary session of the countries that don't need the special drawing rights because they don't need more reserves in their central banks to be able to give them away for new facilities for the least developed countries and the poor countries, but also for the middle income [countries]. And to find how the SRDs can also go to the development banks that are the ones that can really lend and finance very important investments that the developing world has to do."
Grynspan said financing the needs of the developing world is very important. She added, “I would like that to happen in a multilateral framework. And I think that multilateralism is very important in that sense. So, the developing world will have access to markets and won't suffer too quickly going back to austerity because they don't have the means to face the crisis."
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